The nuclear power industry has, almost from its very beginning, had to deal with the issue of disposing of the nuclear waste generated by its processes. Some may consider that the nuclear industry, having grown in an erratic manner, has been unable to deal with this issue in a way that has resolved the many issues that come with it.
If a solution to the problem of nuclear waste disposal is not found, the consequences to the environment and the health and safety of large populations of people, along with the economic impact, are immeasurably large.
The problem, of course, is that there is, to date, no acceptable method of “permanent” disposal of nuclear waste. It is up for debate what “permanent” can ever mean, when the half-life of radioactive waste is in the thousands and millions of years. The current solution, and one likely for the foreseeable future, is “out of sight—out of mind.” Removing spent nuclear fuel from reactors of any sort, whether from commercial power plants, university labs or military installations, and disposing of the spent fuel is difficult, dangerous and expensive. Nuclear waste, especially intermediate and high-level waste, can be held on site for decades while low-level waste may be quickly transported to permanent storage or burial sites. “Nuclear waste” can also include many collateral items used in nuclear installations such as: clothing, instruments, equipment and associated chemicals.
The current state of affairs in the nuclear industry, with respect to nuclear waste, is best summarized in the collective writings of environmentalist Lorna Salzman, who says that “the longer the problem remains unsolved, the less credible are assurances that an acceptable solution will eventually be found.”
In order to minimize the difficulties of finding a “permanent” solution, while constantly storing and moving millions of drums and containers of all sorts of radioactive waste of varying degrees of emission intensity, it is indispensable that the drums and containers be made as secure from the loss of material containment as possible. Notwithstanding continuous improvement over the years since the nuclear industry began drums and containers remain vulnerable to leakage of radioactive materials for a wide variety of technical and operational reasons, such as, corrosion, accident, vandalism and sabotage.
There is a need, therefore, to be able to continuously monitor each drum or container against corrosive leakage, accidental damage, theft or acts of terrorism. Further, these security systems need to be able to report upon the detection of any type of change in status in a manner that is timely and effective.